


may we meet again

by chininiris



Series: yuriashe week 2020 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Getting Together, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Suggestive Themes, YuriAshe Week (Fire Emblem), YuriAshe Week 2020, i mean? maybe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chininiris/pseuds/chininiris
Summary: A violet, his mother said when he’d asked once, and she traced it with a delicate finger before tickling his sides.“What about it?” He asks in the most bored tone he can muster before disappearing underwater again to delay the answer. When Yuri resurfaces, Ashe still looks shocked, but also... Happy?He sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, eyes bright with excitement. “We match!”For YuriAshe Week. Day Four:fate/destiny & sacrifice
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc
Series: yuriashe week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920853
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31
Collections: YURIASHE WEEK 2020





	may we meet again

**Author's Note:**

> For [Yuriashe Week](https://twitter.com/yuriasheweek)

Yuri has to admit that it is convenient to have joined the professor’s class, for a few reasons.

One, he has free access to both the dining hall and the greenhouse. Good food in Abyss is rare to find, and while he’s grateful he can have meals with the best ingredients Garreg Mach can offer, he doesn’t forget his colleagues living underground. It’s easy to sneak fresh fruits and bread to Abyss for the children, along with other ingredients for stews and simple dishes for larger groups. 

Two, the bath house is another plus. Proper water for consumption is hard to find underground, but they have made filters with gravel and sand to treat it and make it safe enough to drink, bathe and cook. Baths are usually cold unless you have the patience to heat water up, and even then one hardly ever takes the time to soak, as they can’t afford wasting water with such luxury. Baths are usually quick and taken with the use of a cup to rinse the soap off, so getting the opportunity to linger in the warm water of the communal bath, or the sauna, a few days a week is good for a change. 

Yuri visits the bathhouse after sundown and dinner, close to curfew hours when it’s unlikely that someone will wander inside. He’s seen students breaking curfew as often as he’s seen Balthus lose bets all those years, but they partake in activities other than cleaning up.

Setting his towel aside, he steps into the sunken bath and wanders to the other side where he can get a clear view of the room and its entrance. When he sits down, the water reaches up to his chest and he sighs, propping his elbows on the stone ledge behind him and letting the warmth ease some of the tension that’s coiled into his shoulders over the years. It’s peaceful and quiet, just the way he likes after a day of sparring with the members of the Blue Lion House (mainly Felix, who seems hellbent in trying to defeat him).

But like many things in his life, that peacefulness was never meant to last long, for soon the door opens with a crack and he finds himself with company. And as luck would have it, the one to join him at such an odd hour is Ashe. 

Yuri remembers him from the time spent in House Rowe. Though he had admittedly buried most memories of that time, in a world such as this where one can turn on you at any given moment, Yuri can’t afford to forget faces, not that he thinks Ashe would ever pose a threat to him. As a kid, he was too honest, too gentle, too good of a person. 

But then again, so was Yuri at some point.

Ashe doesn’t seem to have changed much over the years, from what Yuri noticed from their sparse interactions these past weeks, still with the soft features of the young boy who trailed after Cristophe and looked after his younger siblings in social gatherings, and still stupidly believing that Yuri is a good person deep down. 

Yuri doesn’t try to push him away, knowing that despite his gentle nature, Ashe can be quite stubborn, but he doesn’t try to approach him either. Ashe doesn’t know him anymore, and as much as Yuri bears some fondness for Ashe, he doesn’t want to risk him getting tangled in his messes.

Ashe halts when he notices Yuri in the steamed room, offering a quiet greeting and nothing more as he discards his own towel and steps into the warm water. Yuri half expects Ashe to approach him and try to start a conversation, but he only wanders closer to another wall, keeping a good distance between them. His nude state doesn’t bother Yuri in the slightest, and he watches as Ashe slowly lowers himself to the water, face pinching with pain until he’s sitting down and the water is up to his chin. He sighs quietly, and finally Yuri looks away. 

He doesn’t seem to have any visible bruises, so Yuri chalks the stiffness up as a result of a training session, which is better than the alternative. The thought of Ashe being picked on doesn’t sit well with him, and Yuri would rather not face the reason why.

Yuri sinks under the water to wet his hair, then grabs a bar of soap he brought along and goes about cleaning his hair, rubbing at his scalp methodically. He hears no sound coming from the other occupant of the room and he turns to find Ashe staring at him with wide eyes, the lower half of his face hidden by the water.

He holds his gaze for a beat, then quirks up his lips in a smirk. “Like what you see, little bird?” 

Ashe’s already pink face turns red at an alarming pace, the fierce blush creeping down his neck as he rears his head out of the water. He was easy to fluster then and he’s easy to fluster now. Some things never change, Yuri supposes.

“N-No, it’s not that! It’s just-” Ashe cuts himself short and paddles over to Yuri, who can’t help but watch him with a mix of amusement and wariness. “Your soulmark...”

Oh. The amusement vanishes and all that remains is wariness. Soulmarks, like Crests, are said to be gifts from the Goddess, marks left on the skin that will help you find the person who plays a major role in your life. They can become your lover, your best friend, your family, or even your enemy.

He’s always hated the concept that his fate had been tied to another’s from the start. Yuri has never been fond of the people who tried to control him, tried to keep him in cages, so even if this is a holy gift from the Goddess or what have you, he hates the idea that even She was trying to control an aspect of his life. He would rather think of it as a regular birthmark with an oddly specific shape, and not the sign of something mystical and novel-like.

It’s a conscious effort not to hide said mark with his hand, but now he’s painfully aware of its imprint on his chest, close to his heart, shaped in the form of a flower: five petals, an unopened bud, a portion of stem and a little leaf placed near the end. A violet, his mother said when he’d asked once, and she traced it with a delicate finger before tickling his sides. 

“What about it?” He asks in the most bored tone he can muster before disappearing underwater again to delay the answer. When Yuri resurfaces, Ashe still looks shocked, but also... Happy? 

He sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, eyes bright with excitement. “We match!”

“What?” Yuri can’t help but sound surprised himself, and Ashe turns around to display his back, his shoulders peppered with freckles. 

There, on his right shoulder blade, is the same mark that Yuri has looked at every day of his life and dismissed. Of course the Goddess, She who’s enjoyed getting hHer fair share of laughter at Yuri's expense, would tie their fates together in another one of Her divine jokes. 

Ashe turns around, eyes sparkling, and Yuri has to force himself to look away. Is he really that happy that Yuri is his soulmate? Charming as he may seem, Yuri wouldn’t call himself soulmate material.

In the end, it doesn’t matter why Ashe is so happy with this new discovery, and it matters even less what Yuri thinks of it, his emotions too confusing to decipher right away. 

“Seems like it.” He forces disinterest in his voice, because, _Goddess_ , keeping Ashe at an arm’s length is hard enough as it is with how intent the boy is on getting closer and rekindling the friendship they shared as kids. Now, throw this soulmark into the mix and Yuri might never be able to keep him away from the shadows. 

The smile falls from Ashe’s face, and Yuri feels a slight pang in his chest. He used to make Ashe smile, once; now it seems he’s been doing the opposite. “Aren’t you happy?” Ashe asks, hesitant, taking an involuntary step back to increase the distance between them. “I-I heard finding soulmates at a young age is very rare.” 

“All this talk about soulmates is a bunch of bull,” Yuri drawls, scrubbing the length of his arms with a bath cloth lathered in soap. He doesn’t look at Ashe as he speaks. “I’ve never seen anyone who’s found their soulmate, and those who claim to have can’t prove it. Sounds like a lie if you ask me, or something fantastical out of these fiction books of yours that you are so fond of.” 

Yuri takes the time to pick at the dirt under his nails, keenly aware of the silence on Ashe’s part. “B-But we... They...” He responds eventually and starts backing away. “I just- I-” 

He never finishes, ducking his head and turning to leave. Yuri watches as he winces to climb out of the sunken bath and wraps himself up in his towel, leaving the room with the same quick feet that took him away from guards in times of struggle. 

Yuri releases the cloth and presses his fingers into the corners of his eyes, shutting them tight. Ashe had made sure to cover up the mark with the towel.

* * *

In the courtyard after classes, Yuri sits on the grass with Hapi, tossing breadcrumbs at the braver birds who dare come close to humans, while Balthus and Constance stand close to the building where the wall casts a shade. Lots of pigeons and doves, he notices; wild birds rarely linger in the monastery for too long.

From the gate that leads to the dormitories, Ashe and Ingrid emerge, cutting through the courtyard as they talk animatedly, headed in the general direction of the stables. Yuri follows their figures with his eyes until they disappear behind the trimmed hedges.

It’s almost shameful to admit, but Yuri has been keeping track of the days since Ashe started ignoring him. Today is the sixteenth, and counting. 

Before, Ashe would greet them in the mornings and would actively try to strike a conversation throughout the day, intent on making the Ashen Wolves feel welcomed in the Blue Lion House. Now, Yuri can tell he greets them out of politeness, and Ashe hasn’t tried to talk to him since that day in the bath house; he hasn’t looked Yuri in the eye, either. It’s hard to find him alone these days too, always accompanied by his friends wherever he goes.

Under other circumstances, Yuri wouldn’t have thought much of it. If Ashe had decided to not be associated with a criminal despite their history, Yuri would have understood, but knowing that the reason for this distance is because he hurt him doesn’t sit well in his stomach, even if he _wants_ to keep Ashe away.

He tears his eyes away from where they passed and turns to find Hapi looking at him. “You’ve been staring at him a lot lately.”

Yuri chuckles at her observation and tosses more crumbs for the birds. “I have, haven’t I?” He doesn’t elaborate, and she doesn’t ask. That’s how it’s always been for them and he’s not about to start opening up to her about his struggles anytime soon - and boy problems, no less! Who would’ve thought Yuri would ever have boy problems of some kind?

But despite Ashe’s silence, Yuri has seen Hapi speaking with him alone on some occasions, and if Yuri won’t open up, Ashe just might if Hapi ever decides to bother herself with it and ask outright. 

How much had he hurt Ashe, Yuri asks himself, to actually have him pretend he doesn’t exist?

* * *

The following week, Byleth enters the classroom and pins the roster of group tasks of the week to the notice board before starting the lecture. After class, Yuri approaches it once everyone is gone and finds that he was placed on weeding duty with Balthus and kitchen duty with Ashe on alternate days. 

Discreetly, his eyes sweep over to Ashe’s to see what he’ll be up to on the other days: sky watch duty with Ingrid.

Later, Yuri makes his way to the kitchen and tries not to dread how awkward it will be, but at least the professor will be there as a buffer. She enjoys taking part in some of the duties, like gardening, cooking and fishing, so he and Ashe won’t be alone together in the same space. Although, being alone could be the chance he needs to try and clear things up.

“He’s been more agreeable to work with these past weeks.” He stops just inside the doorstep, sees Byleth and Ashe by the counter, an array of vegetables in front of them. The professor pats him gently on the head, and Ashe flushes a bit under the attention. “I’m glad to hear it’s been going well.” 

Seems like he caught the tail end of a conversation, but before Byleth can follow up with more context, a crash and a yelp from outside break the peaceful atmosphere of the kitchen. Yuri uses the opportunity to whirl around on his feet to stare wide eyed in the general direction of the noise, pretending like he just hadn’t been eavesdropping. 

Byleth drops her apron on the counter before exiting the kitchen. Ashe follows closely behind, brow furrowed in concern, and Yuri decides to tag along. 

Outside the dining hall, on the patio that overlooks the fishing pond, a heap of crates lie to the side, turned over from the force of the impact. A foot can be seen amidst the mess of wood and potatoes, pointed up towards the sky as a pair of hands try to scramble at the crates for purchase, a pained groan coming from the victim. Byleth and Ashe launch themselves at the scene, pushing crates aside to reveal the dazzed form of Annette. 

While the professor makes sure the girl is coherent, Yuri takes it upon himself to gather all the scattered potatoes that rolled away when the crates turned over. Some of them are a bit bruised, but still perfectly edible, and he silently slips all of them into the same crate to take back to Abyss later. 

Annette hisses low, one of her hair loops completely undone as she lifts her head to look down at the leg the professor is inspecting. Save for the sprained ankle she sports, Annette seems unharmed. 

Byleth clicks her tongue gently. “Come on, let’s get you to the infirmary.” She turns around and kneels, and Ashe gently helps Annette onto her back. 

“Do you need help, professor?” He asks, wincing in sympathy when Annette hisses again, the backs of her hands covered in knicks. 

“I can manage.” And indeed, she rises to her feet like carrying a teen on her back is no big deal. Granted, Annette is small for her age, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that the professor is stronger than she looks. “Go ahead and start with the meal, yeah? I’ll be back soon.” 

She walks by where Yuri is restacking the crates and fixes him with a look before taking off to the infirmary at a brisk pace. Her stare leaves him puzzled until it clicks, and he has to stop himself from chuckling. Yuri knows a warning glance when he sees one, and he has to admit he hadn’t stopped to consider the possibility that the professor would have caught on to the moodshift of one of her students. 

Of course she would; she only _looks_ like she’s naive. Byleth is more perceptive than people give her credit, which is precisely why she paired him and Ashe for cooking duty this week. In hindsight, he should have guessed.

Byleth is protective, fittingly like a lioness looking after her cubs. When they’d gone to Abyss, she’d looked after all of them, Ashen Wolves included, like they were her direct responsibility. She listens to their problems, she encourages them, she’s supportive, she’s a great strategist. Yuri doesn’t know how she does it, but no one ever returns to the monastery seriously injured after a mission. 

As a teacher, Byleth can’t play favorites even within her own house, but it’s clear she has a soft spot for Ashe. He lost his parents once, he lost his adoptive father before her eyes, he looked after his siblings by himself when younger, he’s sweet and kind and generous, he’s the youngest of the class, and Yuri, the newcomer, has upset him. 

Her warning stare had meant two things: fix this and don’t do it again, _or else_. 

Yuri’s smart enough to know that, if she follows through with the threat, he won’t win. Though he’s fairly sure he could hold his own for a long time, Byleth is a force to be reckoned with, but it’s just her luck that Yuri can’t stand this silence too. He’ll fix this now, somehow. 

By the time he’s back inside the kitchen, Ashe has resumed chopping the vegetables. “Sparrow-”

“Can you check on the meat?” He cuts smoothly, frowning down at the cutting board. “The professor left it marinating.” 

“Ashe,” Yuri tries again, closing his fingers around Ashe’s wrist. In his surprise, Ashe drops the knife on the cutting board with a clatter. “We need to talk.” 

Yuri releases his wrist, and Ashe cradles it against his chest like it’s been hurt. Yuri knows it’s not, he was gentle; Ashe is just trying to find a way to shield himself from this conversation, which makes the guilt in him grow. 

“Listen, I’m sorry, I-” Yuri tries to find words, any words but the truth, but it’s especially hard to lie to Ashe right now. Always has been, but he did it anyway. “I just-”

“It’s okay, Yuri, I get it.” His words would have left Yuri relieved if it weren’t for the way Ashe is glancing away, still clearly upset. “I wouldn’t want to be my own soulmate either.” 

The admission is so sudden and bitter that it catches Yuri off guard. “I’m sorry, what? You think _you’re_ the problem?” 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ashe’s green eyes flick up to him, pained. “I’m not talented like Felix, or strong like Dedue or Dimitri, or beautiful like-”

“Stop, stop, stop.” Yuri places both his hands on Ashe’s shoulders and squeezes, and Ashe’s mouth shuts with an audible snap. “I’ve never heard so much... Goddess, Ashe, you’re all of that. Talented, strong, beautiful.” 

Ashe’s frown deepens. “I’m really not.”

“You are, shut up. Whoever told you these lies?” When Ashe doesn’t respond, Yuri huffs and shakes his head. Leave it to Ashe to put these ideas in his own head. “Listen, you’re not the problem, okay? Anyone would be lucky to have you as a soulmate.” 

“How can you even say that now?” Ashe rebukes, trying to shrug his hands off, but Yuri keeps them firmly on his shoulders. “ _You_ are my soulmate and you’re not happy with this.” _With me_ goes unsaid, but Yuri still catches on to it.

“Goddess, Ashe, look at me.” Yuri hisses, grip tightening and fighting the urge to give Ashe a good shake. “Look at my life and the things I did to survive. I couldn’t care less about a stranger that got tied to me by the whims of the Goddess, I’d just ignore them and move on with my life. But you, Ashe, you deserve more. You deserve better.” 

“You don’t get to choose what I deserve!” Ashe’s voice rises in pitch, and his eyes are so bright that it can only mean one thing. “That’s my call to make!”

“Maybe so,” Yuri concedes with a sigh. Screw keeping it from him. The truth is the least he owes to Ashe after hurting him this way, for the sake of their peace of mind. “But you deserve better than a criminal and a murderer with so much blood under the nails and a death count bigger than you can imagine.”

“Do you think I care about that?” Ashe shoots back, his whole face scrunching up. “I don’t care about what you did or didn’t do, it doesn’t change anything. I just- I care about my friend. I care about _you_.”

Yuri releases his shoulders to wipe at the tears spilling from green eyes. Now he’s really gone and done it. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he whispers, and Ashe’s sob cuts right through his chest. And so will the Sword of the Creator if Yuri doesn’t get him to stop crying before the professor returns. “I was trying to protect you, it wasn’t my intention to hurt you, I’m sorry.” 

“Protect me from what? From yourself?” Ashe rubs his eyes, wipes his nose with the back of his clothed arm. “I know you, you wouldn’t hurt me.” 

“No, you don’t know me, sparrow, not anymore, and I’ve already hurt you.” Yuri offers him a tiny, rueful smile when Ashe looks at him again. His eyes are slightly puffy and his nose is red, but this will fade with time soon. And there is that determined light in his eyes again. Yuri muses aloud, “You really do care about me, don’t you?” 

“I do,” Ashe replies with no hesitation, and Yuri shakes his head.

“A horrible decision, really.” Then, Yuri brushes pale hair out of Ashe’s face and smiles. “But I don’t think you’re lying.” 

“Why would I lie about that?” Ashe asks with furrowed brows, and Yuri chuckles under his breath.

“You’d be surprised how many times I had people telling me they care only to try and stab me in the back, sparrow, but that hardly matters now.” Yuri tucks a lock of light grey hair behind Ashe’s ear, but it slips back into place. His chest feels warm. “I’m... I’m glad it’s you, Ashe. Really.” 

Ashe surprises him by closing the distance between their bodies, wrapping his arms around Yuri’s neck and pulling him into a hug. He flounders for a minute, fighting the instincts that kick in and want to push Ashe away, to do harm and ensure his survival. Only when they subside does he rest his hands on Ashe’s back, applying just enough force to show he’s returning the gesture. Ashe tucks his face in the crook of his neck, and they stand in the kitchen like that for a while. 

Yuri notices the professor standing a fair distance away, watching. She gives him a satisfied nod and turns around, slipping out of the dining hall to give Ashe time to recollect himself.

* * *

A few things go back to how they used to be. Morning greetings, extended conversations, playful chatter as they stir pots in the kitchen. The air around Ashe lightens up, and as a result, so does the air in the classroom. The Blue Lions are finely attuned to one another’s moods, and it’s clear now why Ashe hadn’t been spotted alone these past days.

If Yuri is outside performing any other group task, or if he’s just going about his business, he glances up to the sky often enough to try and catch a glimpse of light grey hair atop a wyvern. Ingrid often accompanies Ashe in these duties, the duo soaring the sky and diligently keeping watch. Sometimes, the professor assigns Constance instead, despite the effect sunlight has on her. 

Ashe doesn’t have much free time as of late during daylight hours, either caught up training or studying or performing his tasks. It’s wonderful that he’s adapting to the academy well and is actively seeking to improve, but already Yuri misses having Ashe trail him to start a conversation. It should be disconcerting how fast he’d let Ashe come close after that conversation in the kitchen, especially after he’d been so intent on keeping him away, but Yuri doesn’t feel much bothered by it, if at all. 

If anything, it feels normal. Simple. It reminds him of lazy afternoons spent in Lonato’s library, of tales about knights and maidens, battles and bravery. It reminds him of the gardens in Rowe’s castle, the colorful flowers Ashe tried to weave into crowns countless times until he finally succeeded. 

It reminds Yuri of days when he didn’t have to fight to survive, of waiting to meet with the boy who’d wormed his way past his walls, the first kid Yuri had dared call a friend. 

Ashe may not have time during daylight hours, but they find other ways to meet. Sneaking after curfew to spar, to visit the library, to explore Abyss, to talk in the quietness of the bath house. 

Ashe sits closer and, sometimes, Yuri himself is the one to approach him if he sits too far, and they talk and laugh until their fingers are pruned and their skin is pink from the hot water. Being around Ashe is easy, and Yuri finds that he can lower his guard around him just a little, enough to forget his problems for a little while. 

It becomes more apparent how all the training has been changing Ashe’s body. His arms are more toned, his shoulders and back growing in size and becoming more defined. Yuri can’t stop looking at the soul mark either, it seems, and sometimes he traces it with the tip of his finger, eliciting a shiver from Ashe before he squirms away. Ashe is too adorable for his own good. 

* * *

Ethereal Moon rolls around, and with it comes the White Heron Cup and the ball. Byleth picks him to represent the house despite his protests, and Yuri thinks it’s her own form of punishment for having upset Ashe that one time, but he takes it in stride, confident that if anyone can win this competition, it’s him. 

So he dresses in a borrowed garb and practices in his room in Abyss late at night, twirling under flickering candlelight. No one needs to know and no one finds out, and when the day of the competition comes, he’s given the official dancer garbs as a prize. It’s fittingly made of shades of grey and patches of red, the jewelry a dark silver. The sandals that are kind of uncomfortable to wear, but he can manage. It leaves most of his right leg exposed and offers little protection, but that’s fine; he’s fought with even less over the years. 

Byleth expects him to wear that on the next mission, but until then there’s something else that requires his attention. Yuri would rather not come to the ball, but Constance was looking forward to the opportunity to dress up and show off all of the elegance of House Nuvelle or whatever, so they chose to tag along with her. It doesn’t turn out to be so bad after all, if only because he gets to watch Ashe from a distance. 

Ashe is dressed in the formal evening attire, sticking to the sidelines with Dedue, Ingrid and Felix, conveniently close to the snack table. Their other classmates, sans Dimitri who has his hands full with a line of people waiting to dance with him, try to drag them out for a dance. Felix stays behind, so Sylvain takes on Ingrid as his dance partner while Mercedes and Annette steer Dedue and Ashe in the direction of the dancefloor, respectively. There’s a blush on Ashe’s cheeks from being exposed, and the embarrassment makes him fumble with his feet a few times, but Annette is the one who steps on his toes in the end. 

Yuri watches, something hot curling around his heart, and pushes himself away from the wall when the music is coming to a close. “Care to dance with the winner of the White Heron Cup?”

Annette laughs brilliantly, “He’s all yours,” and she’s off to try to get Felix to have some fun again. Yuri’s timing turns out to be perfect, for the next song to be played is a slow one, so he pulls Ashe closer until their chests are touching. The flush on his face darkens, making his freckles stand out more. 

Yuri leads the dance, Ashe’s hand on his and maintaining eye contact all throughout the song. Ashe stares at him wide-eyed, and Yuri finds it a bit hard to breathe himself. 

“You were amazing,” Ashe begins, “i-in the competition, I mean.”

“Naturally,” Yuri agrees smoothly, removing his hand from Ashe’s waist to twirl him in a circle. “Did you expect anything less?” 

Ashe lets out a breathless laugh when they reunite. “No, not really. I knew you’d win. You always do.”

“Is this about the games we used to play as kids?” Yuri teases, chuckling when Ashe looks away with a pout; he was never good at board games, but he indulged Yuri anyway. “Hey, how about we go out for some fresh air?” 

They slip out of the room before the song is over, sticking to the shadows as Yuri guides them to a quieter place. He sees their teacher returning to the ballroom, and he’s pretty sure she sees them too, but decides to turn a blind eye to them. Good. Ashe is smiling when they sprint across the bridge, and Yuri shushes him as they enter the darkened tower. 

Up some floors they go, hands tracing the stone walls covered with vines, until they’re high enough to see the stars. The music from the ball doesn’t reach them here; it’s just them, the darkness of the night, and some crickets that aren’t hiding from the cold. 

Yuri sits on the ledge of a wide opening, and Ashe leans his elbows on the stone by his side as Yuri points out the constellations he learned from Hapi. It’s quiet and peaceful and it makes him think of when they’d sit by the fire in the large library of Castle Gaspard, with Ashe reading aloud his favorite tales while Yuri listened intently. 

“Do you know the rumors of the Goddess Tower?” Ashe asks in a whisper once Yuri is done with sharing his knowledge and the silence has stretched on for a while. 

“I’ve heard of them, yes.” Yuri looks down at him to see Ashe fiddling with his thumbs, the moonlight illuminating the pink on his cheeks and bridge of his nose. “Heard the wish only comes true when it’s a man with a woman, too.” He smirks at the sight, or maybe he just smiles, and turns around on his perch to face Ashe instead, who steps back to make room for Yuri’s legs. 

“Humor me for a second and pretend I’m a girl. What wish would you make?” He asks, swinging his legs just a bit. Ashe ponders, scratching the side of his neck idly.

“I wish for my brother and sister back home to live out their lives in peace,” he says, cupping his chin in thought.

Yuri laughs. “That is just like you. Adorable, really.”

The blush on Ashe’s face darkens. He’s so easy to fluster, so endearing too. “W-What wish would you make?” Yuri only smiles in response.

Being with Ashe feels natural. Back on easier days, when he didn’t have to worry about food or the cold, when he could send money to his mother without fear of being tracked, Yuri would meet up with Ashe a few times a year and could openly say they were friends. That was before things went south and his life in House Rowe wasn’t a bed of roses anymore, but maybe he can give himself that liberty again. 

As natural as tugging Ashe closer by the hands, as parting his legs to make space for him, as lacing his fingers behind his neck to pull Ashe closer. Natural and easy as pressing their lips together, as smiling when Ashe gasps sharply, as slipping his tongue into his mouth and feeling Ashe’s fingers dig into his thighs in response. 

Yuri has experienced moments like this before countless times, and has gone further just as much, but this is different, so much different than just him trying to charm someone to get something out of them. Because Ashe looks at him like he’s the whole world, and he’s earnest and inexperienced, but his enthusiasm makes up for all his shortcomings. Sometimes he uses too much tongue, sometimes he doesn’t use it enough, but still his kisses leave Yuri weak in a way no one’s ever done before. It’s addicting, it’s everything.

He pulls back to see Ashe’s eyes under the moonlight, darker with pupils blown, and dives in for more. 

* * *

The mood in Garreg Mach shifts a full one-eighty in the span of a few hours. The simple mission of investigating the abandoned chapel becomes more complicated when demonic beasts are thrown into the mix, but the worst comes when they’re all defeated and Byleth and Captain Jeralt are investigating the ruins alone. 

The missing student who’d been found recently when they’d been searching for Flayn shows up and stabs the captain on the side, and they’re left to return to the monastery with one life lost and two criminals missing.

Byleth makes herself scarce, locking herself up in her room for days on end, trying to cope with the loss of the only family she knew. The Blue Lion House seems shaken to its core, the students mobilizing to look after their professor as much as they can. Ashe and Dedue often cook comforting meals, Mercedes prepares sweet pastries, Annette puts together flower arrangements, and they leave those at her doorstep. Even students from other houses are touched; Yuri spots Bernadetta leaving her room a few times to lay flowers on the shared grave of Sitri and Jeralt, and Leonie has been much quieter than usual. 

Rhea, for all her obvious favoritism towards the new professor, doesn’t try to smother her. Hanneman keeps his distance, not close enough to Byleth to be of any help. The knights are searching, but he knows Alois would be all over Byleth if he were here, and so would Catherine, maybe. Manuela and Seteth are the only ones who seem to be granted permission to go into her room.

Yuri meets with Ashe whenever he can, lets him curl up into his side and express his worries for their professor’s health and well being, holds his hand when his voice cracks, pulls him close when he shivers. 

Once the professor emerges from her room, the mood lightens again, if only a little. The worried frown on Ashe’s face eases and the blush returns, always intensifying in color when Yuri is just the slightest bit flirty. One time he corners Ashe in the greenhouse behind some tall plants and kisses him silly until his knees nearly give out, and he laughs light and carefree at the look on Ashe's face.

Ashe is too adorable, and he’s also _his_ , Yuri thinks with satisfaction. And to think he’d been trying to keep him away.

In all the years he’s been living in Abyss, Yuri has seen his fair share of weird stuff, but he has to admit things have only gotten worse once the professor came around. Like a chain of events starting from a chance meeting to Lonato’s death to Aelfric’s betrayal to the Death Knight to Tomas to Monica- _Kronya_ \- to Byleth cutting the heavens with the Sword of the Creator and stepping out of thin air to rejoin the fight after they’d just seen her vanish under a spell, changed in more ways than one.

That would have been a fine end for the school year, Yuri will muse later, if it didn’t have another thing in store for them.

* * *

The night before they’re set to go into the Holy Tomb for a mission - a _divine revelation_ , as Lady Rhea had called it - Yuri is in his room, penning a letter to his mother when a quiet knock breaks his concentration. 

He gives the door a quizzical look. Hapi is either asleep by now or out star gazing, Constance is probably buried deep in her research, and Balthus is off hitting on women or trying to win an arm wrestling competition in the Wilting Rose. With no other possible visitors coming to mind, Yuri approaches the door cautiously, hand feeling for the dagger under his clothes. 

It drops away when he pulls the door open a fraction and catches Ashe standing outside. “Little bird,” he calls, opening the door wider to let him in. “What are you doing here so late?” 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Ashe enters the room and stands stiffly in place as Yuri locks and bolts the door again. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have come here uninvited.” 

“You’re always welcomed in Abyss, sparrow.” Yuri approaches him, placing his hand on the nape of Ashe’s neck and slowly massaging. He looks exhausted, shadows already forming under his eyes and shoulders hunching forward. “Is something on your mind? Nervous about the mission?” 

Ashe shakes his head with a sigh. “Nothing like that. I was tossing and turning for the past hour or so. Can I stay here for a while?” 

“You can stay the night.” Yuri laughs quietly as red blooms on his cheeks and gives Ashe’s nape a squeeze. “I mean it. You look like you could collapse at any moment, and it’s not a short walk from here to the surface, you know.” 

He steers Ashe in the direction of the bed, pressing down on his shoulders until he sits on the edge of the mattress. “I’m not interrupting you, am I?” 

“Not at all, dove. I was just writing a letter to my mother.” Yuri checks if the ink has dried and slips the unfinished letter in the first drawer of the desk, locking it with a key. 

“Oh. How is she?” Ashe removes his shoes and scoots backwards on the bed until his back hits the wall, watching as Yuri moves the candle holder to the bedside table.

“Still frail, but doing well.” Yuri informs, setting his shoes aside near Ashe’s. “No more talking now, dear dove. You need your rest.” 

Ashe nods, a jerky motion of his head, and hesitantly lies down on the bed. Yuri shakes his head, taking in the tense line of his body, the scrunched up shoulders and the fiddling thumbs. “I don’t bite,” he teases before lying down himself, pulling the blanket over them. “I mean, I do, but only if you ask.” 

Ashe shoves him in retaliation, face burning red again, and Yuri laughs until his stomach hurts.

Gently, Yuri wraps an arm around Ashe’s shoulders and pulls him closer, letting him curl up into his side. Ashe’s still tense, but a few minutes of playing with his hair make him relax, and Yuri closes his eyes, concentrating on the tickle of Ashe’s breath fanning on his neck. It slows down, a sure sign he’s almost falling asleep, his body heavy and loose.

“You’re singing,” Ashe notes, voice laced with sleep, and the observation makes Yuri halt. He really had been, an old lullaby his mother used to sing when he was a kid. “Do it again?”

Yuri swallows and quickly makes up his mind. It’s Ashe, his first friend, his soulmate, someone who believes Yuri has a good bone somewhere in his body, his partner. 

So he sings, quietly and under his breath, until he falls asleep too.

* * *

Edelgard being the Flame Emperor comes as a surprise to all of them, and what stings most is that she’d been right under their noses all this time and no one ever suspected a damn thing. Not Yuri, not Claude, not even Linhardt. And like that revelation wasn’t enough, she declares war on the Church, which has both Dimitri and Rhea out of their minds. 

Yuri’s outside to help defend the gates; a threat to the monastery is a threat to all of Abyss, and he can’t have his people caught in the chaos. There’s a nervous energy in the air as Rhea stands with sword and shield in hand, her jaw set and green eyes burning with fury as she stares at the opposing army that’s fast approaching. Catherine is ever present by her side, looking just as vicious.

He sees the professor pushing to the front lines in her enlightened robes, face set into grim determination as she takes her place beside Dimitri. Someone will have to keep a close eye on him, and the responsibility falls on her shoulders. The other Lions are scattering around to take their positions. 

He turns away, searching the crowd for Ashe, but catches no glimpse of silver hair anywhere. If the Ashen Wolves take notice of it, which they certainly do, they do not comment. Yuri didn’t have time to have a proper conversation with him before they marched outside, and there’s an uncharacteristic fear that their last words will be just battle tactics. 

A shadow falls over them and he looks up to see a flock of pegasi and wyverns preparing to descend into the battlefield. Seteth is ahead leading the group, his brand new silver axe gleaming under the sun. His mount lowers itself to the ground to share a few last words with the professor, the others following suit.

That’s when Yuri sees him, Ashe, dressed in silver armor with his own axe in hand and bow strapped to his back. He’s thrown off for a moment, because Ashe’s dream has always been to be a bow knight, and suddenly he’s not even on solid ground anymore, but rather soaring overhead. And suddenly it makes sense, all the sky watch duties, the times Yuri had caught him training with Dedue and Alois, the new broadness of his frame.

Ashe looks around, finds him, offers him a nod and a tiny smile. It’s the last interaction they have.

* * *

In the times when he’s alone in his room in Abyss, Yuri will reach under his bed and pull out a box from underneath 

Like a sentimental fool, he’d gone up to the monastery after its fall and picked at the lock of Ashe’s room, stuffing what he could into a box and taking it down to Abyss with him. He couldn’t care less about the others’ belongings, but he’d keep what he could from Ashe: a small collection of books of knight tales, his favorite hoodie, a pressed flower Yuri had gifted him once, a small notebook with recipes he learned from Mercedes and Dedue, among other knick knacks. 

He doesn’t read the books, neither does he bury his nose in the hoodie to see if there’s some lingering scent left, but Yuri does open the notebook to observe Ashe’s handwriting, a little uneven from the speed in which he’d jotted down the ingredients and instructions.

Maybe he really is a sentimental fool, and he realizes belatedly that he let himself go too far too soon. Now he has no idea of where Ashe is, if he even is alive, and all the pieces that are left of him can fit in a box. 

Yuri knows Hapi would look into his whereabouts if he so much as asked. Hell, he can just give her a sign and she will do it, but he would rather not. It’s best if he never learns whether or not he has to write Ashe’s name down on his ledger like he did with Dimitri’s and Byleth’s. 

They’d pillaged the monastery too once it was clear they were fighting a losing battle. The Empire army was going to do it anyway, so it seemed fitting if they swiped in first and claimed things for the Abyssians who needed the food and gold more than the imperial soldiers did. Bed sheets were taken to help fight off the chill of the colder nights, as were whatever clothes they could find that weren’t uniforms. Some toys and board games were found to the absolute delight of the kids, and for a while their stock of food was full. 

Life goes on in the Abyss as it always does. They fight Empire knights more often than not, and at some point have to seal the entrances for a while to ensure their safety. Yuri continues to look after them as the days drag by, turning into weeks, months, years. His hair grows longer, his eyes grow somber.

He counts on his calendar the days left until the millennial festival, and pretends like he’s not hoping to see Ashe there.

* * *

“I missed you,” Ashe whispers into the night, and the only reply he gets is a nip to his neck delivered by Yuri. It makes him gasp and writhe under his hands, and Yuri pushes him further up against the wall. It’s dark just the way he likes, and they’re both more comfortable in the shadows anyway. 

Ashe has come to the monastery, as did everyone who Yuri once thought was dead, but there’s still one glaring absence that affects everyone. Later, he will cross Dimitri’s and the professor’s names out and replace them with Dedue’s, but only later.

Now, now he has a lot of catching up to do. Ashe has grown; whereas before he was so adorably shorter than Yuri, now he’s slightly taller. He’s kept with his wyvern rider training and it’s definitely paid off. Yuri can feel the fruits of labor under the fabric of his clothes, muscles soft and firm and making his mouth water just thinking of them. He wants Ashe, needs him, needs to show him what he won’t admit aloud just yet. 

Just so Ashe will get the idea, Yuri leaves a mark on the tender spot of skin just behind his ear, and the noise Ashe makes in response is so quiet but still so sinful that Yuri burns hotter.

Ashe’s fingers tangle in his hair, guide their mouths together and grope at Yuri’s back under the cape he wears, pulling him as close as he can get. Yuri pivots his hips just so to get them touching, and Ashe rips himself away with a gasp that might just reflect exactly what Yuri feels. 

He tries to do it again, but Ashe has been expecting it and grips his hips tight. He’s grown and he’s much stronger too. Delicious. “N-Not here...”

Yuri observes his face, his disheveled hair, his bitten-red lips, half-lidded eyes that are dark from desire. He’s never wanted someone as much as he wants Ashe now, and he breathes in just enough cool night air to clear his senses some. Ashe is his soulmate, one Yuri once wished he didn’t have but now can’t live without, and he deserves more than a quick release in a dark corner between two buildings, especially if this is their, or his in general, first time together. 

Gently, Yuri brushes a finger across his cheek as his other thumb rubs circles into Ashe’s hipbone. “Take me to your room,” he murmurs, and Ashe readily complies. 

* * *

The air is scorching hot, leaving his throat parched and his nostrils burning, not that he had expected anything else from a place such as Ailell, where every step burns the soles of your feet and your face hurts from the heat. Yuri still feels its effects on his body long after they marched away from there with new troops in tow. 

Byleth has them set camp for the night a good distance away, where the cool night air is like a balm on their skin, and Yuri finds a seat far from the campfire light, where the darkness conceals most of him to others’ eyes. 

Ashe singles him out, as is expected from someone who mastered the sniper class in their academy days, and takes his place beside Yuri on the ground, quietly fiddling with his bow string whilst Yuri tries to wipe away the dried blood from his blade. 

Gwendal looked tired, and judging by his last words, it was clear he had no plans of retiring from being a knight unless he could no longer be of use to his lord. He looked so old too, older than Yuri remembers ever seeing, but the rigid lines of his face remained the same after all these years.

As serious as the man was, Yuri remembers him trailing his every step in the grounds of Count Rowe’s castle, teaching him the way of the sword, indulging in Ashe’s requests of sharing his own stories, never as fun and entertaining as the ones in books, but Ashe soaked them up anyway. 

He knew all along that one day would come when he’d raise his sword against House Rowe, that one day he would have to battle his old caretaker, and so he prepared himself for it. But even so, he tries not to think of whom the blood on the blade belongs to. Yuri can’t afford to feel regret for taking lives in a war, or at any given moment, but it’s harder when they have shared a past. 

“I understand now,” Yuri says quietly, feeling the weight of Ashe’s gaze settling on him for the first time since his arrival. “What you felt then, in Magdreg Way.” 

Ashe lets out a shaky breath, but doesn’t answer. They’ve been fighting their former schoolmates all this time and that hurts, but there’s a difference when it comes to someone who knew you when you were young, who raised you in some way.

In the darkness of their quiet corner, Yuri lays his head on Ashe’s shoulder with a heavy sigh, wishing this war could end soon. 

* * *

At the same time Yuri adds a few more names to his ledger, he crosses out Dedue’s. It’s the third person that was presumed dead to come back, and it’s honestly a relief that Yuri gets the chance to cross out their names from his booklet.

Dedue showed up halfway through the battle to conquer the Great Bridge of Myrddin, making his old classmates cheer and call out his name in surprise. There wasn’t much time then for a proper reunion, but once the bridge was secured and theirs, most of the Blue Lions circled around their missing friend to properly greet him.

Now, it’s close to nightfall and they’ve just finished setting up camp on the Alliance field close to the bridge. The Ashen Wolves sit by one of the campfires, Yuri making use of the glow of the flames to scribble down the names of the fallen peers that had marched with him into battle hours prior. The murmur of his friends is just background noise to his ears, his attention split between his booklet and the cooking station across the camp. 

Ashe and Dedue were good friends back in the academy. Very, very good friends. Honestly speaking, Yuri is glad the man is alive, he’s happy for Ashe who got his friend back, but there’s something ugly curling around his stomach, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

“You okay there, pal?” Balthus asks, leaning over to get a closer glimpse at Yuri’s face. “You’re looking kinda green.” 

Constance’s laugh is so loud it attracts stares from other soldiers resting close by. “Is the Savage Mockingbird, by any chance, feeling jealous that our dear Ashe has reunited and is conversing with an old friend?” 

Yuri gives no indication that her words bother him, but he considers the scratch left on paper where his hand slipped at the sound of her laugh so close to his ear. He doesn’t remember a time when he felt jealous before, so he really can’t compare what he feels now, but it’s totally plausible that it is the case. He’d been just fine until Ashe and Dedue (and Mercedes, too) offered to cook dinner for the troops this evening, and seeing them laughing and having an overall good time just didn’t seem to sit well in his stomach. 

“Why would he be?” Hapi pipes up from beside Constance, lazily dragging a stick through a small patch of dirt. “Freckles is head over heels for Yuri-bird.” 

He exhales, writing down the last name and setting the ledger aside to allow the ink to dry. “Exactly. I have nothing to worry about, Shady Lady.” Yuri flicks the quill in Constance’s face, tickling the underside of her nose and making her reel back with an insulted gasp. 

Over Constance’s affronted protests at the nickname, Balthus whistles sharply. “Damn, you really trust him, eh?” 

Yuri does, probably more than he should. It should feel scary to put so much trust on a single person, but Ashe is... Ashe, and something in Yuri has always trusted him deep down. The soulmate bond, perhaps?

He’s spared from having to offer them any answer at all when Annette rings the bell that signals dinner is ready, and Yuri smirks with satisfaction as his friends get up to get their fill. He doesn’t have to move from his spot, for Ashe is already headed his way with two steaming bowls in hand, smiling from ear to ear. 

“You look happy,” Yuri notes, taking the proffered bowls and setting them aside. Ashe sits down beside him with a groan, stretching out his legs and rolling his ankles.

“It’s good to have him back. I missed him.” He says, sighing as he pops his knuckles. Ashe looks exhausted - it was a long battle and he offered to cook enough food for the whole army - and yet he looks as beautiful as ever under the glow of the flames. He turns to look at Yuri, who’s been shamelessly staring at him since. “What? Is there something on my face?”

Yuri only shakes his head and leans in closer, wrapping his fingers around the collar of Ashe’s coat and pulling him in, slotting their lips together. The kiss is slow, deep and possessive, and Ashe promptly opens up to allow Yuri to lick into his mouth, squeezing his waist with every nip and lick that draws a noise from him. He whimpers when Yuri pulls away, gasping and digging his fingers deeper into the trimmed waist when Yuri turns his attention to the spot behind his ear. 

There’s a fading bruise that Yuri had left at some point last week, and he latches onto it with his lips to remark the spot. He runs his thumb over it delicately once he’s done, and pulls back completely to look at an out of breath Ashe.

“What was that for?” He asks between gasps, but Yuri only presses a sweet kiss to his cheek and gives him the cooling bowl of food.

* * *

It’s been too long since Yuri’s last been in the Kingdom, long enough that he can barely remember. It was probably when he was kicked out of House Rowe following the scandal with the dead Knights of Seiros, so swiftly expelled that he wasn't allowed to take any of his belongings. Not that it mattered; he already knew what it was like to have nothing to begin with. 

Sometimes, he thinks, it would be nice to visit his mom again, see for himself how she’s doing. She’s still sick and frail, but he sends off enough money for her to buy medicine, and they exchange enough letters throughout the years to keep in touch. 

Yuri can’t risk attracting stares her way, though. He’s feared, yes, but he’s still a wanted man, and he doesn’t want to put her life in danger. 

The sounds of the festivities continue inside the castle. They’ve just taken back Fhirdiad, freed it from Cornelia’s clutches, but they couldn’t keep her from dying before learning how to undo Hapi’s curse. At least, though, the kingdom capital is saved and it’s another win for their books. The territories occupied by the imperial army continue to shrink in size, and soon they’ll be marching towards Enbarr for the finale. 

An arm curls around his waist, tugging him closer to Ashe. He smells of the spices used to cook their small feast, and there’s a hint of alcohol in his breath as he leans in to press a kiss to Yuri’s cheek, a sloppy thing that has him pulling away with a mock noise of disgust. “Are you drunk?” 

Ashe’s face is flushed and his eyes are a bit unfocused. “No,” then he seems to think better of it, leaning on the balustrade of the patio that overlooks the large courtyard of the royal castle. “Maybe a little.” 

Yuri laughs under his breath, reaching out to brush hair away from Ashe’s eyes. “Who let you drink this much?”

“Sylvain said the wine was very sweet,” Ashe relays with a nod, but the motion serves to only make him dizzier.

“I see he wasn’t lying, if he’s got you to drink this much.” He isn’t slurring, so maybe Ashe will avoid having a hangover come morning. “Let’s get you to bed.” 

Ashe trips a bit on his own feet, but for the most part he can walk well by himself, his fingers entwined with Yuri’s tightly. They make their way back inside where the celebration is still going at full swing. A tipsy Annette is loudly singing with a drunk Sylvain, and Balthus is challenging Kingdom knights to arm wrestling (again). Yuri spots most of his old classmates, though he notices that Dimitri and Byleth are absent. They probably went out for some fresh air like he did. Yuri loves parties, but being in the Kingdom brings some unsavory memories. 

The castle is in good enough condition that they can make use of its many quarters during their stay. Cornelia may have ravaged the Kingdom, but she didn’t destroy the place where she used to live. It’s a bit dusty as it is, but an itchy nose is better than another day of camping. 

Yuri guides his lover up the stairs and down a long hallway, and Ashe, Goddess bless his soul, is laughing giddily as they make their way to their shared quarters. They’ve never been shy about the nature of their relationship, and they’ve spent a few nights together in and out of the monastery, so sharing a room now is nothing strange. They have a perfect excuse for it too, with the limited amount of guest rooms and too many soldiers to house, because Dimitri insists that everyone sleeps indoors.

As soon as they cross the threshold, Ashe is upon him, nipping at his neck and caressing under his shirt as Yuri closes the door. He’s clumsy and eager and his breath is hot enough that it makes Yuri shiver. 

“Excited, are we?” He turns around and pushes Ashe towards the bed, navigating him backwards until his legs bump into the frame and he falls on the mattress with a grunt. Yuri wastes no time to climb onto the bed and straddle his legs, smiling down at him. “Do you want to have some fun, my little sparrow?”

Ashe doesn’t say anything for a while. He swallows and stares at Yuri with wide eyes, which shine with amazement. “You’re beautiful,” he marvels in a breathless whisper, and it startles a laugh out of Yuri. 

“Thanks, I’m glad you noticed,” he teases, leaning down to trace his nose along Ashe’s cheek. “So are you.” 

The man under him makes a noise of protest, but Yuri will have none of it. He locks their mouths together and lets their bodies do the talking.

* * *

In response to Claude’s request for aid, they head to Derdriu, the Aquatic Capital, and save it from the Imperial army. Later, they learn Claude has relinquished his leadership of the Leicester Alliance, passing on all the territories to Dimitri, effectively uniting both portions of the continent again.

A celebration follows that night, with good food and wine provided by House Riegan itself, and Yuri accompanies Ashe when the latter is summoned by Dimitri to the inside the Riegan estate where they will be staying the night. 

In one of the rooms upstairs, Dimitri uncovers the bow Failnaught and passes it on to Ashe, explaining that Claude left it in his care and that he’s passing it on to their bow expert. When asked how he’s supposed to handle a Hero’s Relic without being consumed by its power like Milkan, Dimitri only replies that Byleth will find a way to make it work. And somehow, they believe that. 

But still it isn’t enough to ease some of Ashe’s worries, even after he drops the bow in their shared room and they return to the festivities, so Yuri takes him away from the throng of people in the direction of the shores, and they walk barefoot on the soft sand as the waves crash on their feet.

“I’ve seen the sea only once before,” Ashe says when they’ve walked far away enough from the main plaza that the songs and voices are just a background buzz. “When we went to Rhodos Coast that one time in the academy. It’s nice to see it again.” 

Yuri has been to seaside cities a fairly decent amount of times, but he’d never had a good chance to stop and appreciate the scenery. The first time he’d been able to do that was in Rhodos too, because the professor had allowed them to mess around after their mission was completed. He didn’t have the chance to observe the sea when they arrived at Derdriu, and now it’s way too dark to see much, but just listening to the waves is nice. 

He turns to Ashe, releasing his hand. “Hey, let’s take a dip.” 

By the time his words register in Ashe’s brain, Yuri has already discarded his cape and shirt in a pile. “Y-Yuri!” Ashe grabs his wrists as he’s working on the laces of his trousers, and Yuri laughs heartily.

“Why are you so embarrassed? It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” Ashe remains quiet, his body close enough that his clothes brush against Yuri’s bare skin, and he takes in their position, the way Ashe stands between him and the city. “Oh, I see. You don’t want other people to see me naked, do you?” 

Teasing Ashe is fun, but Yuri knows there’s more to the issue than just that. After all, they still make use of the sauna and bath house in Garreg Mach, with so many people together at some point or another that anyone can see Yuri in a naked state, and the same applies to Ashe. The issue is that this is a public space and they can get in trouble. 

But when will they have a chance to swim in the sea again?

“Hey.” Yuri reaches up to cup his cheek. “It’ll be fine. It’s dark and everyone is close to getting drunk by now. Indulge me this once, okay?” 

Ashe swallows and eventually offers a nod, looking over his shoulder every few seconds as he discards his clothes as well. Yuri is the first to step into the sea, the waters still warm from the hot afternoon sun. He doesn’t know how to _swim_ , only knows enough to keep himself from drowning, so he wanders until the water is up to his waist and turns to watch Ashe. 

His hair is nearly white under the moonlight, gleaming as he slowly makes his way into the water. The silver glow of the moon illuminates the planes of his chest and stomach, the muscles of his arms and legs, and Yuri thinks of how strong he is, how much strength he needs to remain atop a wyvern and swing an axe and shoot arrows with high precision. Strong enough that he lifts Yuri with ease, enough that he can leave bruises on Yuri’s waist if he squeezes his thighs around him hard enough. 

Yuri smiles at him, reaching out a hand and pulling him closer. “See, not so bad, is it?”

“It really isn’t,” Ashe agrees, shivering when Yuri slides his fingers along his side. But Yuri doesn’t go further than that and merely enjoys their time together in the sea.

* * *

Tents were put up on a field not too far from Enbarr, one last rest before the final battle. Dimitri’s meeting with Edelgard went as well as one could hope, ending in no bloodshed but offering no peaceful end to this war. Edelgard will go down with her beliefs, and that’s something Yuri can admire.

It’s still dark out, but soon the first people will begin to awaken, or at least leave their tents after not getting much sleep out of anticipation for what is to come. 

Yuri himself didn’t get much sleep; neither did Ashe, for that matter, both of them having decided to share a tent for the night once more. Nothing happened further than exploratory, teasing touches out of respect for the other members of the army stationed close, but they kissed until Yuri forgot how to breathe and got lost in their own thoughts in each other’s arms.

Ashe’s finger is trailing a line along Yuri’s spine, a hand tucked under his head for support and his eyes closed peacefully. Yuri is curled into his side, tracing patterns on Ashe’s freckled chest. 

“Yuri?” He hums in response, tilting his head to look at his lover’s face. Yuri can barely make out the open eye looking at him. “I love you.” 

He props himself up on his elbow, leaning over Ashe and cupping his face gently. “What prompted this?” 

“Nothing. I’ve just been wanting to tell you for a while now.” Ashe takes his hand and brings it close to his lips to kiss his knuckles. The gesture is so gentle that it steals the air from Yuri’s lungs. “I thought you should know.” 

“I could get an idea from all we’ve done,” he says, hoping it will make Ashe blush. “You’re not really the kind of guy who would sleep around for fun.” 

Yuri feels rather than hears the chuckle that makes Ashe’s chest rumble. “Guess I’m not.” He says nothing more and continues to run his fingers on Yuri’s back.

The silence stretches on for long enough that Yuri is compelled to ask, “Well? Aren’t you going to ask if I feel the same?” 

Ashe shrugs as best as he can in his current position. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into admitting anything.” 

Yuri frowns, exasperated, and takes Ashe’s chin to turn his face and force their eyes to meet. “Don’t tell me you think I don’t like you.”

“No, I know you like me,” Ashe says, quiet, “but I understand if this is just a casual thing to you.” 

“You really are a fool if you think I’d let my guard down around you, my _soulmate_ , my first _real_ friend, and sleep with you just for fun.” 

“I-I’m sorry.” Yuri can’t see his face all that well, but Ashe’s voice is filled with guilt. “I didn’t want to assume.”

Yuri exhales, long and hard, and presses their lips together sweetly, letting the contact linger. “You’re lucky you’re adorable, and lucky that I love you, or else I’d be really mad right now.” 

Ashe grins wide, tangling his fingers in lavender strands and tugging Yuri down for another kiss, slow and passionate, placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth when they part.

“When all of this is over,” Ashe begins, out of breath, “will you be mine?” He entwines their fingers together, a meaningful gesture, and Yuri shakes his head with a smile.

“Look at you being a sap,” he teases, rolling on top of Ashe, the covers slipping down to reveal his naked torso as Yuri settles comfortably on his hips. “I already am yours, little dove.” 

Soon the first rays of sunshine will creep over the horizon and it will be time to go, but until then, they continue to relish in one another. 

* * *

Yuri and the Ashen Wolves only realize something is off when they regroup with their other classmates at the gates of the Imperial palace. The mood is somber, not victorious as one would have expected after taking over Enbarr with as little civilian casualties as possible. Annette and Mercedes are huddled together, Sylvain is comforting Ingrid, and Felix has his back turned to them, his posture rigid. 

“What’s going on?” Balthus is the one to ask, but by then Yuri has already taken notice of the mass lying a distance away and makes his way towards it, feet speeding up with every step taken. 

The wyvern, Ashe’s wyvern, lies lifeless on the ground, arrows punctured deep into its flesh, the blood now dried from the wounds. And just before it is Ashe himself, lying in stillness with his head on the professor’s lap, her fingers framing his face, his armor scattered all over the place and revealing torn clothes and deep wounds.

Dimitri and Dedue kneel close by, each of them sporting equally sorrowful expressions, and Seteth and Flayn are standing behind the professor, whispering prayers. Yuri hardly registers any of that, his wide eyes taking in the splatter of blood on Ashe’s face, the pale complexity of his features, the red stains on several parts of the clothes he wears under the armor. Yuri feels his throat close up as he touches the hands folded over an unmoving chest and feels their diminishing warmth.

“I’m sorry,” the professor whispers, low enough that only he can hear. “I tried so many times to save him, but I couldn’t. I- I am so sorry, Yuri.” 

He pretends he doesn’t see her tears, and in turn, she turns a blind eye to his own. Yuri caresses Ashe’s face with careful fingers, wiping away the blood, afraid that he will shatter under his touch. Ashe looks so _fragile,_ so _breakable_ that it makes him want to scream until his throat bleeds. 

Seteth succeeds in prying Byleth away from her fallen student, taking her to a quiet side of the street where she will be able to regain her composure. It will do no good to have the army’s main strategist and general show weakness just before a grand battle. Dimitri and Dedue leave to rejoin the others, and for some minutes Yuri is left alone with Ashe. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend nothing is wrong, but that’s a dangerous thing to do. 

He grits his teeth, trying to stop the flow of tears before they get out of control. He’s the Savage Mockingbird, he’s not supposed to cry. When was the last time he even cried? Figures it would be Ashe who would make him break down.

Yuri leans down to touch their foreheads together, trying to ignore the lack of breath fanning on his face. “Ashe,” he murmurs, swallowing against the knot in his throat and pulling the still body into his arms. “My little dove, my love. I love you. _I love you_.” 

Resting his cheek on top of Ashe’s head, Yuri hums a melody under his breath, the same old lullaby he sang to Ashe all those years ago in Abyss, on all those nights they got to spend together since. Yuri kisses his forehead, his closed eyes, his cheeks, and every knuckle and finger, every scar left on his hands from plucking at bowstrings over the years. 

When he returns to the group, no one comments on the red of his eyes, not that they can say anything as their own are in the same state. He turns to Byleth, who now wears that same expressionless mask she’s known for, her own defense mechanism in times like this, and gives her a mirthless smile. 

“Put me in the front lines,” he says, something hot and ugly igniting in him. “She did this. I want her to pay.”

* * *

Edelgard dies by the hands of Dimitri after one last attempt at making amends. After five long years, the war is finally over and Fódlan can focus its efforts in rebuilding and recuperating.

Dimitri is crowned king, and Byleth is made the new archbishop of the Church of Seiros following Rhea’s retirement. Seteth remains in Garreg Mach as a trusted advisor, and together the three of them lead the United Kingdom of Fódlan into a new peaceful dawn. 

The rest of the Blue Lion House aids in the efforts, doing what they can to help the nation recover from the war that ravaged it to its core. Yuri finds himself with Mercedes in the region of Faerghus, tending to the homeless and the orphans, and finds a little time to visit his mother again. She’s still in need of medication, but she’s been doing better, and a special arrangement with the new archbishop allows him to move her to Garreg Mach where she will be given proper care.

Two new residents arrive shortly after, Ashe’s siblings whom Byleth has taken it upon herself to care for in his absence. Sometimes looking at them hurts; they’re so similar to him that Yuri has to do a double take a few times. They remember him from their childhood days, and they know what Yuri meant to Ashe. 

Ashe himself has been buried in the monastery, given the proper respect that he deserved. It’s not unusual to see Lady Byleth visiting his grave, though Yuri never approaches when she’s there. He goes later by himself, under the dark cloak of the night, to lay flowers on the tombstone and talk to someone taken from him too soon. 

He’s returned most of Ashe’s belongings to his siblings, but kept a few things to himself. Another hoodie, for one; a bow that he displays in his bedroom, a few more books and a small diary. Yuri reads a few pages every night, and rereads them when he gets to the end, eyes hot with unshed tears.

Sometimes he does cry, whenever he reads excerpts that Ashe wrote about him.

Balthus, after returning from a trip to Goneril territory, gives Yuri a small parcel from Hilda. A necklace, a vibrant violet preserved in resin and trapped inside a tiny bottle. He wears it every day.

Fódlan continues to heal, and Yuri slips back into the shadows. 

* * *

Seteth fixes the archbishop with a look before leaving them alone in the advisor’s room, shutting the door with a soft click. Byleth rolls her eyes and reaches for the teapot in the table between them to serve him a drink. Yuri doesn’t think he’ll ever grow used to seeing her dressed in all white instead of black leather and lace.

“Judging by his face, you’re about to reveal something he’d rather keep a secret,” he notes, thanking her when she places a cup in front of him. 

“That’s right,” Byleth agrees, pouring tea to herself, “but I thought you should know.” 

After all this time, she still remembers his favorite kind of tea and how to make it. She’s probably committed all of their favorites to memory. “Even knowing of my past, you would trust me with this important information?” 

Yuri expects her to tease him in some way, but instead she cradles the saucer in her hand and reclines slowly on the other sofa. “It’s about Ashe,” she reveals, and her eyes are still sad when he’s brought up. “So I know you won’t tell anyone.”

His throat closes up, as it usually does when his fallen lover is mentioned. Most of the time, no one dares to breathe his name around Yuri, so for Byleth to be bringing it up, it has to be important. “Fine, let’s hear it.” 

She exhales slowly and looks down at her reflection in the pinkish tea of choice, albinean berry blend. “The heart of the Goddess and mine are one. She’s the reason why I’m even alive, and sharing Her heart has many benefits and disadvantages. For one, I found it hard to express my feelings when younger, and so did my mother, as I’ve come to learn.” 

“I always suspected there was something more to you than just a compatible crest, especially when you came back from that mission looking different.” Yuri remembers the sudden change in appearance as she stepped out of thin air, strange enough that Bernadetta had avoided the professor for a full moon. “What about the advantages?”

“I heal faster and my lifespan has increased greatly. I also have the ability to control time.” Byleth looks up from her tea. “Have you ever had the feeling in battle that you’ve already done something once? Or maybe multiple times?”

He has, in fact, like some weird _déjà vu_ that he’d always brushed off as lack of proper sleep or stress or anything but actual, literal divine intervention. 

“That happens because I can turn back the hands of time,” Byleth continues, glancing down at her cup again, “and that happens whenever I turn back to change an outcome. It’s the reason why most of my students left battles unscathed or with minor injuries, or why I could prevent bigger losses.”

She pauses, giving him time to digest the information. Yuri’s mind is tripping on itself to make sense of her words, and before he’s ordered his thoughts, he asks quietly, “Then why?”

“My powers are limited and sometimes there are things that are bigger than me that I cannot change. My father...” Her grip tightens around the saucer, as much as it can without breaking it. “I tried and I failed, I couldn’t stop him from getting stabbed. And Ashe... I was running out of pulses. So many people had fallen already: Mercedes, Felix, Hapi, even Dimitri himself. I kept turning back time. We’d gotten so close, I was so confident we would all make it.” 

There’s a soft _pling_ of a tear falling into cooling tea, and he has to turn his eyes away to not look at her tears. “I couldn’t get him out of danger. Ashe has always been someone who’s put the needs of others above his own. As much as I tried, I couldn’t get him to not save that family. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he’d left them to die.” 

Silence falls upon them, and Yuri takes this opportunity to sort out his feelings. He understands she did all that she could, but he still feels a little angry, much too hurt. Logically speaking, that’s the reality of war. Maybe being with Ashe made him too soft, not that he regrets any of the moments they spent together, even if the pain is excruciating most of the time. 

“He really wouldn’t,” he replies at last, pretending like his voice isn’t on the verge of cracking. How long until time heals this wound? And why is she telling him this?

Byleth reaches up to wipe at her face and continues, as if reading his mind. “Yuri, the soulmarks are truly gifts from the Goddess. You will find him again in another life, I’ll make sure of it.”

He laughs a little, bringing up his tea to take another sip. It’s cool, but he doesn’t mind. “I don’t doubt you could pull something like that off.” She’s done the unthinkable - she is the Goddess reborn! She can do anything. Then he smiles, a small, genuine thing that’s so rare to see these days. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” 

* * *

Ashe’s siblings enroll in the Officers Academy when it reopens, no longer with the intent of solely teaching noble children the ways of the war, and no longer requiring an absurd tuition for enrollment. Alec becomes a dark knight, and Alice becomes the bow knight Ashe had dreamed of being as a child. 

Dimitri has children, a boy and a girl, and both look much like him; the girl also carries the Crest of Blaiddyd, and it sometimes will activate in the most inopportune of times. Mercedes and Dedue open a school in Fhirdiad for kids from Duscur, educating them on the most various aspects of their culture. Having inherited the title of Duke Fraldarius, Felix serves as Dimitri’s right-hand man, and there’s talk that he’s set to propose to Annette. Ingrid has become a knight, honoring the dream she shared with Ashe, and Sylvain has been working to improve relations with Sreng.

Yuri continues to live in the shadows, focusing his time and attention into spreading his underground business and making it thrive over the course of the years, using the profit to support orphanages and almshouses across the land. It eventually earns him the title of Underground Lord, which he bears proudly. He continues to visit Ashe’s grave in the monastery, always leaving a bloom in his wake. 

Years, decades pass, and he cannot help but notice that Byleth and Seteth remain unchanged. Then the day comes when they retire, and Yuri accompanies them to the gates of the monastery. She looks the same as she did all those years ago, if not a little more tired from all the duties as archbishop, but Yuri can confirm she hasn’t aged a single day while he already has a few grey hairs himself. 

He thinks of that one time he’d been invited for tea, remembers the secrets she shared, and recognizes the knowing glint in her eyes as they pull apart from a hug. She hasn’t forgotten her promise, and he puts his faith and trust that she will keep her word. 

When the time of his passing comes, Yuri is laid to rest alongside Ashe.

**Author's Note:**

> unpopular fic opinions on twitter: soulmate aus are boring  
> me: I can't read suddenly, I don't know
> 
> This might be the first time I make use of the mcd tag. Hmmm yes. I cried writing the death scene so....... I hope you'll find it at least a bit upsetting JHJKHSGHFKSJ it'd be embarrassing if I was the only one who cried, meanwhile y'all are here like...... damn, this sucks. Which I- hope it doesn't- hgn
> 
> Anyway, I will make it up to you. I promise. 
> 
> | [yuriashe playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0OfM6V57iDzm6EU5URAXdC?si=-1h-RuptSsCWP9RvIpmO9g) | [tumblr](https://chininiris.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/chininiris) | [carrd](https://chininiris.carrd.com/) |


End file.
